1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a passage system of a vacuum cleaner in which an air passage system is modified to increase an amount and speed of air drawn into a vacuum cleaner without having to increase a capacity of a motor so that the performance of a vacuum cleaner is enhanced.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional vacuum cleaners are classified, depending upon a use and a shape, into a cylindrical vacuum cleaner which is generally employed at home, a pot-type vacuum cleaner, which is generally known as a canister vacuum cleaner, for a large places such as a place of business that requires a large capacity, and a portable vacuum cleaner which is easily carried around and employed for a specified purpose (such as a vehicle).
Among various kinds of vacuum cleaners, in case of a rechargeable vacuum cleaner such as the portable vacuum cleaner equipped with a rechargeable battery, it is difficult to produce an output of a sufficient level when using the vacuum cleaner due to the limitation of a capacity of a battery.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a construction of a passage system of the conventional vacuum cleaner.
Referring to FIG. 1, the passage system of the conventional vacuum cleaner comprises a suction motor 10 which is installed on an upper end of the vacuum cleaner to provide a suction force for sucking the outside air into the vacuum cleaner, a suction fan 20 which is placed below the suction motor 10 and blades for sucking the outside air using rotating force of the suction motor 10, a dust filter 30 which is placed below the suction fan 20 to filter dust contained in the outside air sucked by the suction fan 20, a dust-collecting bucket 40 which is positioned below the dust filter 30 to collect dust and the like filtered by the dust filter 30, and a suction nozzle 50 which is arranged below the dust collecting bucket 40 to elevate the speed of flow of the outside air sucked from the outside by the suction fan 20, up to a predetermined value.
Operations of the passage system of the conventional vacuum cleaner according to the aforementioned configuration is described hereinafter. When a user turns on the vacuum cleaner to perform a cleaning work, the suction motor 10 is initiated. The Rotating force of the suction motor 10 is transferred to the suction fan 20 which is rotatably attached to a lower end of the suction motor 10. Thereafter, as the suction fan 20 rotates, a low-pressure space is formed below the suction motor 10 to draw in the air from the outside into the vacuum cleaner.
As the air is sucked in from the outside toward the low-pressure space, dust and other particles are also sucked into the vacuum cleaner along with the outside air through the suction nozzle 50.
The outside air is then directed to the dust filter 30. In the dust filter 30, while air can freely pass through the dust filter 30, dust and the particles having a size larger than that of meshes of the dust filter 30, are filtered by the dust filter 30.
Dust and other particles which did not pass through the dust filter 30, drop down to be collected in the dust collecting bucket 40, whereby one cycle of operations of the vacuum cleaner is completed.
Also, the air which passed through the dust filter 30, is exhausted to the outside after sequentially passing through the suction fan 20 and the suction motor 10. While the air passes through the suction motor 10, heat generated by the suction motor 10 is cooled.
While undergoing time serial sequences as described above, dust and other particles contained in the outside air, are filtered by the dust filter 30. If dust and the particles are collected in the dust-collecting bucket 40 built up to the point in which in flow of the air is effected and degrade an efficiency of the vacuum cleaner, a user of the vacuum cleaner should empty out the dust-collecting bucket 40.
Since the air, which is discharged to the outside after passing through the suction motor 10, flows at a high speed, the air retains a substantial amount of kinetic energy which could be utilized to improve the efficiency. However, the passage system of the conventional vacuum cleaner dose not employ any means to reuse the air having kinetic energy.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the problems occurring in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a passage system of a vacuum cleaner, which enables the air to be exhausted is utilized again to provide an additional source of energy for the vacuum cleaner. And, in the case of a rechargeable vacuum cleaner wherein an output cannot be raised beyond a predetermined level due to the limitation within its own configuration, the passage system of the vacuum cleaner in accordance with the present invention allows a cleaning work to be performed in more efficient manner with the same power supply source.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a passage system of a vacuum cleaner, comprising: an ejector suction passage which is connected to one end of an outer surface of a motor case to reutilize air which has been exhausted from a suction motor; an ejector formed at the end of the ejector suction passage for accumulating air that has passed through the ejector suction passage; an ejector nozzle formed at one end of the ejector for exhausting the air at a high speed and under a low pressure; a second suction passage having one end placed at a predetermined distance from the ejector nozzle and the other end connected to a dust collecting bucket, such that the air discharged from the ejector nozzle and the air existing in an ejector chamber are simultaneously drawn in together into an ejector chamber and thereafter flows in the direction of a suction motor, an ejector chamber which is formed in the inside of the ejector nozzle, and one end of the second suction passage is connected in the ejector chamber so that an inside of the ejector chamber remains under low pressure; a second suction nozzle formed at a predetermined position in the ejector chamber to draw in the outside air at a high speed; a first suction nozzle placed at a predetermined position of the vacuum cleaner to draw the air in at a high velocity by a suction force generated by the suction motor; and a first suction passage having one end which is fastened to the first suction nozzle and the other end is connected to a predetermined part of the dust collecting bucket, in a manner such that outside air which is drawn in via the first suction nozzle, is guided toward the suction motor.
By the feature of the present invention, the passage system of a vacuum cleaner according to the present invention provides advantages in that, since energy, which is contained in air discharged through a suction motor, is utilized again, cleaning performance of the vacuum cleaner can be improved.